National Human Genome Research Institute

National Institutes of Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Medical Geneticists Elected to Institute of Medicine

NHGRI's Alan Guttmacher, Robert Nussbaum Among 65 New Members

BETHESDA, Md., Mon., Oct. 18, 2004 - Two medical geneticists from the National
Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National
Academies, one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health, it
was announced today.

NHGRI Deputy Director Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., and Robert L. Nussbaum, M.D.,
chief of the Genetic Disease Research Branch and acting chief of the Inherited
Disease Research Branch in NHGRI's Division of Intramural Research, are among
the 65 new members of IOM, which is a national resource for independently informed
analysis and recommendations on issues related to human health. With their election,
members make a commitment to devote a significant amount of time as volunteers
for IOM committees, which conduct a broad range of studies on health policy
issues.

"We are thrilled that the Institute of Medicine has recognized Drs. Guttmacher
and Nussbaum for their outstanding professional achievements and commitment
to service. Along with many others at NHGRI, these two physicians have been
at the forefront of efforts to translate the findings of the Human Genome Project
into new strategies for improving human health. The IOM surely will benefit
from their membership," said NHGRI Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.,
who himself was elected to the IOM in 1991.

As deputy director of NHGRI, Dr. Guttmacher guides strategic planning for
the institute and plays a lead role in integrating genomics into medical practice.
In addition, as director of NHGRI's Office of Policy, Communications and Education,
Dr. Guttmacher oversees the institute's health affairs, public policy, communications,
community outreach and public education functions. His other activities at NHGRI
have included co-editing a series of articles on genomic medicine for The New
England Journal of Medicine, and co-founding a group called Genetic Resources
on the Web, which works with organizations sponsoring genetics-related Web sites
to ensure they contain high-quality information.

Prior to joining NHGRI in 1999, Dr. Guttmacher directed the Vermont Regional
Genetics Center at the University of Vermont in Burlington, where he launched
a series of public health genetics programs. He also had a busy practice in
clinical genetics, conducted research and was a tenured associate professor
of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Dr. Guttmacher received an A.B. degree from Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass.
in 1972 and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1981. From 1982 to 1985,
he completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at Children's Hospital
Boston and from 1985 to 1987 was a fellow in medical genetics at Children's
Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Guttmacher is a Fellow of the
American Academy of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American College of Medical
Genetics.

Dr. Nussbaum, who is currently the president of the American Society of Human
Genetics, came to NHGRI in 1993. His research has made significant contributions
to identifying the genetic abnormalities and disease mechanisms in Lowe Syndrome
and Parkinson disease. In addition to his branch chief roles at NHGRI, Dr. Nussbaum
is an executive faculty member of the Joint NIH-Johns Hopkins University Genetic
Counseling Training Program. He also administers the Center for Inherited Disease
Research, a high-throughput genotyping facility funded by a consortium of 12
NIH institutes that supports genetic research worldwide.

Dr. Nussbaum received an A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1971 and earned
his M.D. in 1975 from the Harvard University/Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Joint Program in Health Sciences and Technology. He completed a residency in
internal medicine at St. Louis' Washington University and at Barnes Hospital,
also in St. Louis, from 1975 to 1978, and was a fellow in genetics at Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston from 1978 to 1981.

From 1981 to 1984, Dr. Nussbaum served as an assistant professor of medicine
at Baylor College of Medicine. From 1984 to 1993, he was an associate investigator
of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Md., and was based in the
Department of Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

NHGRI is one of 27 institutes and centers at NIH, an agency of the Department
of Health and Human Services. The NHGRI Division of Intramural Research develops
and implements technology to understand, diagnose and treat genomic and genetic
diseases. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at: www.genome.gov.